Drum Coffee Table, 38", with Beaters - Mid-East Product Description:
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Product Description
38"W x 19"H. Rosewood construction with a natural skin playing surface. With two beaters. Actual weight is 40 pounds. Cord color and wood color may vary from the photo. Freight shipping only, too big for UPS.
Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Powerful Gathering Drum ( Heart drum, Mother drum )
By David Gibbons
I have had one of these drums now for about 3 months. Mid-East Manufacturing lists this drum and its two smaller (24" and 28") cousins as 'accent', 'end', and 'coffee' tables! Don't be misled by these names. These are serious drums. They are made in Pakistan by people who know what makes a good drum. I have other smaller drums from Mid-East, and the quality has been consistently excellent. The construction of this drum is sturdy, with the natural skin head tightened with an african style roping system.The power of the 38" drum even when one person is playing it with the supplied beaters can shake the floor or rattle the fixtures in a good-sized room. I have had 10 people playing this drum at the same time, using extra beaters from Mid-East. It is a true 'gathering drum'. (They should advertise it as such.) It sounds good at high,medium, and low volumes.Things to be aware of:1) This is a natural head drum, using real animal skin. Protect the head from all liquids and sharp objects and abrasive surfaces. Replacing a head of this size if it is damaged will be expensive in time and money. A solid clear plastic top would be the first thing I would recommend you get for it, if you were to actually use it as a coffee table. Don't let kids play on it unsupervised!2) As the head is natural, it is very sensitive to atmospheric conditions. The 38" head goes from a crisp and powerful sounding surface in the warm sun to a floppy rag on a cool damp evening. I actually bought a electric lap blanket to GENTLY warm it for some special evening activities. (Previously I used a hair drier. Don't get close to the head with a hair drier, just WARM the head, don't make it hot. I quit using the drier because it was too noisy for many venues.)3) The supplied beaters are a very good choice to use with this drum. Their beater head has the right balance of softness and weight to draw good notes from the drum. The also have 'bendy' handles, which protects the edge of the head of the drum if a player carelessly lets the handle strike the head at the rim of the drum.4) This drum is a rhythm locomotive. If you put a group of ordinary people drumming on it in a drum circle, they will haul the entire circle with them, faster and faster. Like any very powerful tool, it needs to be controlled. Having more experienced drummers play it in large group settings will help keep things from getting out of hand.5)This drum is HUGE. I built a cart and a cover to protect it for transport and storage, but I have to turn it sideways and roll it through doorways. It is plenty sturdy to do this.6) It will fit in a pickup truck or a mini-van with some seats removed. MAYBE in a big station wagon. Having a helper to move it is a good idea. It is not terribly heavy, but it is really bulky.7) This drum should not be confused with Native American gathering drums. I guess it could be used as such, but the extensive set of traditions around some of the large Native American drums don't come with this drum, unless you want to apply them. I'd check carefully with the organizers before showing up at any Native American gathering with this drum.8) If you turn the drum up on its edge (I built its cart to act as a stand for 'on edge' playing) you can use an extra heavy beater to draw out the lowest note from the drum. It literally shakes your body, and is more felt than heard.On a dollar/fun basis, I have found this drum to be a wonderful value, if you can deal with its requirements.
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